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HyperCVAD198
04-05-2015, 09:46 AM
Alright guys,

The Boss (wife) told me that I could get a new board this year! So here is the part where I ask for the sage advice of the group on what everyone liked/didn't like. Any info that you can provide is much appreciated!

HyperCVAD198

jtryon
04-06-2015, 10:01 AM
I have done a ton of research over the past Winter and just upgraded my own board for the season. First question: what is the style of riding you're going for, skim or surf? There are a ton of good boards to recommend but need to know first what you're looking for style-wise.

trayson
04-06-2015, 07:00 PM
Yeah, there are 3 factors to wakesurfing. Ability, board, and wave. Obviously the wave is dictated a lot by what boat/ballast you have. your ability is influenced by your experience, size, weight, riding style.

so to really address the last thing (board) as much insight into the other factors is important. Likewise, it would be good to know where your balance of priorities lies as far as what price range you'd like to be in. There's a huge difference between someone that has $250 to spend on a used board vs someone that isn't going to blink at $700 to $900.

I've ridden quite a list of boards, and can offer some insight from someone that's had a decent amount of ride time. But need more info first.

HyperCVAD198
04-07-2015, 01:38 PM
Yeah - I was thinking I kinda left it a bit wide open with my first post. Also - want to point out I've seen Trayson on a few other posting on a few other website as well - This guy is the REAL DEAL as a wakesurf enthusiast - and his posts have certainly been a great reference for me any my crew. Glad to see the new boat man!

So we're surfing behind a 2011 Sunsport 22V - 1100 in the port rear locker, 1180 in the center/front ski locker, 400 in the starboard rear (since we don't do goofy much). The wave is pretty great, especially if we get a bit more weight on the back corner - I have some spare bags I may be bringing out this year to really drop that back left corner.

We currently have 2 boards we ride:
4'10 Liquid Force Custom - 20.4" wide: We have enjoyed this board more as we have progressed. It was a cheap buy to get us started, see if we liked the sport. We found quickly that this board is squirrel-y, and tough for newbies to get started. As we got more experience, we like the ease of spins, but the single fin means it's fairly "loose" in the rear. We've done some 180s with it, though have not stuck any ropeless yet.

Hyperlite LandLock 5'10 - This board has been the one that really got everyone in the game for surfing. Obviously, this is more a cruising board, but has been great to get a whole SLEW of beginners up last year and really get the ladies fired up about the sport. Certainly, not the board for tricks.

One the scale of ability as a group, we're probably low-end intermediates/high end beginners -as I mentioned, we're still not sticking any spins wireless, but we know the basics.

At this point, I think we're leaning towards a skim style board, somewhere 5'2 to 5'4 length-wise, and probably with multiple fin configs. As far as price goes, I have no problem going all out for a board that really is going to allow us to have a good cut, and let us do spins/tricks. As I mentioned, I've been trying to do a ton of research - so found a few mega reviews on other message boards - but mostly those are prior year reviews - so I'm having to take that into account. I believe there is also a thursdays demo day up at the local lake, so I may try to hit one or two of those.

So yes, any info you guys may have, I am all ears. Thanks for taking the time to look at my post!

trayson
04-07-2015, 01:53 PM
I'm not the biggest skim style rider, but I've ridden a few. I liked the smaller Ronix one carbon skimmer (I have the 4'10 ronix one skimmer and it's just kinda there for me. not my style. I've got it up for sale.) as far as a more mass produced board. As I'm sure you've read elsewhere, I really liked the lakewakes flying saucer. it's fast and agile and it's hard to beat for the money. I haven't personally ridden the Soulcraft Soul Skimmer, but have heard great things about it. You've likely read my buddy Desi's review thread (Surf Addict) and he liked the soul skimmer the best aside from price. But the flying saucer was a close 2nd. He also rode the P5 and Vic and had good things to say about them. Again, no first hand experience with those--just what Desi said. He's the skim style rider. I like surf style (so my preference there is no secret--Doomswell).

I think I've ridden the Liquid force custom quad, so I'll give you my take on that one. It's a board that doesn't like to cruise, it likes to be ridden. it's kind of like a drunk pig if you get lazy on it, but when you're carving it, that's where it comes to life. it's reasonably quick down the line but definitely another of the boards that likes long fluid carves. That's what I remember anyway, I only rode it once.

The landlock? It's like a big fat Cadillac. Not my choice for a 'boat board' but yeah, anyone could ride that. and you can pretty much just have it and not care about it because I'm sure it'll take abuse.

Sounds like you're on the right track. Demo some boards for sure.

kvillebuckeye
04-07-2015, 06:59 PM
I don't have a ton of wake surfing experience but the one thing I will say is to stay away from the soft foam boards!!! I had a Ronix Marshmellow Thrasher that has a fiberglass bottom and foam top and it bent in half the first season. Stick with boards that use a hard construction. If price isn't an a problem, I've been very impressed by every inland surfer I've ridden, both skim and long board style.

trayson
04-07-2015, 07:20 PM
I don't have a ton of wake surfing experience but the one thing I will say is to stay away from the soft foam boards!!! I had a Ronix Marshmellow Thrasher that has a fiberglass bottom and foam top and it bent in half the first season. Stick with boards that use a hard construction. If price isn't an a problem, I've been very impressed by every inland surfer I've ridden, both skim and long board style.

I had a ronix koal illuminati and it was fragile as hell. I sold it after 1/2 a season and a handful of repairs because it wasn't going to last. My Doomswell Nubstep on the other hand is doing fantastic. I treat it well and it's been great.

wolfeman131
04-10-2015, 08:37 AM
check out the reviews from the 2014 Southern Surfest. Riders of all skill levels rode dozens of boards and provided their feedback. The 2015 event is coming in just a few weeks, so new reviews will be available soon.

http://southernsurfest.com/?page_id=17

If you're leaning towards a skim style board with multiple fins positions, the Phase 5 Model X is a great choice, IMO. It's marketed as a "hybrid" board and does, in fact, have ride characteristics of skim & surf style boards based the manner in which you set it up. If you're looking to pull off 360's, don't let the bigger fins on a surf style board scare you off. Once you learn how to break the fins free, you can pull this trick off.

HyperCVAD198
04-10-2015, 01:11 PM
Wolfeman,

Thanks for this Link, this is definitely a great resource (I'm a data driven guy). Some other sites I've seen review on are mostly text reviews, which leaves me a bit missing out. When I can see a rank ordering of the boards and how many are ranked by category mostly 4's and 5's vs mostly 3s and 2s, makes it a lot easier to make some decisions versus trying to glean out what a reviewer is trying to say in a few sentences. ( Though the notes at the end are nice, too...)

I'd heard of the SurfFest last year, and they're actually right down the road from me on my lake (Lanier -N of Atlanta). Considering going this year now.

HyperCVAD198

wolfeman131
04-12-2015, 09:11 PM
I'm one of the organizers of Southern Surfest and we have an incredible line up of boats and boards this year including the Supra SG and Moomba Mojo. I think we only have 4 spots left, so sign up soon!

If you don't sign up, come on out anyway as many of the board mfgrs will be on hand to talk about their products. Supra Team riders Trevor Miller and Jordan Wolfe will be there as well as other Pros including Sean Cummings, Drew Danileo and Jodi Grassman.

Let me know if you have any addt'l questions.